Devil's Backbone
by Mystery Missy
Summary: When a devil falls in love, it is the the most horrifyingly beautiful thing you can ever witness.


Walking into the darkened church in the dead of night, you placed your lantern on the floor, kneeling down before the cross. You had to confess your sin, but you also wanted to plead that you could keep the thing many called wicked. Your mother called you the devil's whore, your father had beat you black and blue, your friends had abandoned you, but he didn't.

 _Oh Lord, Oh Lord, what have I done?  
I've fallen in love with a man on the run  
Oh Lord, Oh Lord, I'm begging you please  
Don't take that sinner from me  
Oh don't take that sinner from me_

You met him at the docks. Your brother was a navy general, currently leading away a band of pirates to the gallows. You felt for them. Some were as young as mere children, others well into their years. One pirate stuck out the most. He wasn't afraid of the gallows, nor any soldier that stood with bayonets ready to fire. He must have felt your eyes because he turned to you, sea blue eyes, crystal clear even from your distance. Strands of blonde hair fell into his eyes as the wind began to pick up. The pirate smiled at you, and at first you couldn't understand why it gave you butterflies. Suddenly, your view was blocked by your brother's face.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked. Your father was hosting a dinner party tonight, to hopefully find you a husband. Your protested, but it all fell of deaf ears.

"As I'll ever be." You lamented, putting on a false smile.

 _Oh Lord, Oh Lord, what do I do?  
I've fallen for someone who's nothing like you  
He's raised on the edge of the devil's backbone  
Oh I just wanna take him home  
Oh I just wanna take him home  
Ooooooooooo  
Ooooooooooo_

You ran from your home, tears blurring your vision. Your gown was soiled and maybe a bit torn, but it was all in an effort to escape the man your father had deemed your betrothed. Oh, he could play the kind gentleman before a crowd, but behind closed doors, that honey sweet smile turned predatory. He had claimed he could not wait for marriage, that it would surely kill him.

"Then you best die quickly." Was your snark remark. That earned you a harsh punch. As he tried to tear off your dress, putting his knee between your legs, you grabbed your embroidery needle, jabbing it right in his eye. Shoving you to the ground, he screamed and hollered as he tried to take the bloodied needle from his eye. You had left just seconds before he did. You didn't know where you were going, but you needed away from the place you called home. Turning a corner, you ran into someone, falling to the dirt on impact.

"Jaysus, you seem to be in a hurry." Came a soft chuckle above you. Looking up, you saw the pirate from earlier. As he looked down at you, his face changed from slightly amused to concerned. You must have looked like an absolute mess to deserve his pity. The pirate leaned down, hooking an arm around you waist and helping you to stand. His hand stay on your waist, as though he believed you would topple over.

"You alright lass?" He asked, not mockingly or honeyed, but genuinely worried for you. This made new tears spring into your eyes tonight's event had sunk in. You began to sob into his chest, your entire body shaking.

"Shh, it's alright lass. No one's going to hurt ya." He whispered. When you had finally calmed down enough to talk, he escort you down to the docks where he said his ship was. "You can stay there if you need."

You didn't understand why he was being so nice. It wasn't that he was a pirate, but because he didn't know you. To him, you were no one, so why was he letting you stay on his ship?

"Thank you sir, but I don't want to be a bother."

"Nonsense." He insisted. "I saw you at the docks today. I have to say, ya looked like it was you heading for the gallows."

"I might as well be. I have my whole life plotted out from start to finish. From what I wear, to who I marry, to my children. No one can see me as person anymore, but almost like a doll that they can play with."

"Is that why your lip is split?" Lifting a hand to you lip, you felt that it was in fact busted, and most likely bruised.

"Bastard." You huffed.

"Who did that?" He asked.

"My betrothed. I wouldn't allow him between my legs so he hit me and tried to force it… I'll have to go back to him." You realized, stopping in your tracks at the horrible revelation. He turned to you, holding onto your shoulder.

"You don't, not if you don't want to." Looking at this pirate, this man who had treated you with more kindness in less than an hour than your family has your entire life, you felt a sense of calm wash over you. Smiling, you held out your hand for him to take.

"My name is (f/n)(l/n)." Grinning, he shook your hand.

"Captain Edward Kenway."

 _Oh Lord, Oh Lord, he's somewhere between  
A hangman's knot, and three mouths to feed  
There wasn't a wrong or a right he could choose  
He did what he had to do  
Oh he did what he had to do  
Ooooooooooo  
Ooooooooooo_

You and Edward had been seeing each other for nearly a year, and by now you knew his entire crew by name. They were like a true family to you. Walking back from the Jackdaw, smiling as you went, you didn't notice your former betrothed following you.

Entering the small house you now called home, you were startled by the appearance of your mother, father, and brother standing at the table.

"What are you doing here?" You demanded. The day you moved from that marble prison, you cut off all ties from them, losing your friends as well.

"We know the vile things you've been doing." Your father hissed, his fists clenched.

"And how would you?" You challenged. Just then, the door opened behind you, revealing your former betrothed.

"Because I warned them, my dear." He said in a honeyed voice. He had lost his eye the day he tried to force himself on you, now wearing an eyepatch to hide the wound.

"Don't 'dear' me,and you have no involvement in my life so why on earth are you following me?" You demanded. Your father marched forward, fury in his eyes, and he slapped you.

"You do not speak to your betrothed in that manner!"

"Betrothed?! The day I marry a man like him is the day you give up bedding the maid!" You challenged, throwing him completely under the bus by revealing his infidelity. Those words only gave him another reason to punish you.

 _Give me the burden, give me the blame  
I'll shoulder the load, and I'll swallow the shame  
Give me the burden, give me the blame  
How many, how many Hail Marys is it gonna take? _

You stumbled your way to the Jackdaw in the dead of night, clutching your left side in hopes that it could ease the pain. I couldn't. You were sure you were bleeding, though unsure of where. Climbing aboard the ship was a feat of its own, but bringing yourself to enter the captain's cabin, that was another beast. After a few moments of debate, you took a deep breathe, which you regret instantly as the pain came back with a vengeance, you slowly swung open the door to see Edward preparing for bed. In the middle of taking off his shirt, he turned to see who was at the door and froze at the sight before him. You were bruised and bleeding, your lip busted and turning a sickening purple color, a black eye was already formed, your nose broken and bleeding all down your front, and from the way you held your side, he had to guess your ribs were either cracked or broke.

"Jaysus, fuck! What happened to you?" Edward softly asked, trying to stay calm for your sake. He cupped your face in his hand, observing all the injuries.

"My dad wants penance for my sins." You croaked, voice nearly gone from screaming obscenities at your father as he laid his hands upon you. "I guess my happiness is the worst sin he could think of, especially if it was with you and not a man who only sees me as a pair of legs he can sheath his cock in."

Leading you to his bed, he began to clean your wounds while humming a shanty under his breath. You knew he wasn't big on singing in front of others, but he would sing shanties with you all night if you wanted. You couldn't help but smile as he cleaned you busted lip, wondering why no one could see that the love you two shared was something good, something pure.

"You don't have to go back there, you know." Edward said, holding onto your hand like you would disappear if he didn't. "I can find a place for you to live."

"Father said that if I showed at the church in the morning, I could have my life back. That he would forgive all sins I have committed." Leaning in, you kissed Edward with all the love and passion you possessed. Pressing your foreheads together you whispered.

"That's why I'm staying with you." __

 _Don't care if he's guilty, don't care if he's not  
He's good and he's bad and he's all that I've got  
Oh Lord, Oh Lord, I'm begging you please  
Don't take that sinner from me  
Oh don't take that sinner from me_

You heard footsteps come from behind you and knew immediately who it was without looking.

"Did sister Bethany let you in?" You asked the former pirate as he set on the steps next to you.

"Of course she did, love" You smiled at Edward, inwardly shaking your head at him. It had been years since you first met, and much has changed. He was no longer a pirate, but an assassin. He had a daughter named Jennifer from a previous marriage, and now, you two had a two year old son together named Haytham. You kept your faith after all these years, something Edward was proud of.

"Why do you practice the faith your father used to hurt you?" He asked one day after you came home from church. He still wasn't much for religion, but he did attend mass with you when he could.

"The faith is something good and innocent, but men like my father turn it into a weapon and hide behind it like a shield. I know God loves me, as he does you, and all his children. I won't let the evil's my father committed in an act of cowardice destroy my belief."

Standing from the steps, you and Edward walked out of the church hand in hand back to your home. By now, the children were long asleep, but you still walked into their rooms to check on them, tucking them in and placing a kiss on their heads. Slipping into your own bed, Edward wrapped his arms around your waist.

"Goodnight (y/n), I love you."

"I love you Edward.


End file.
